Hello, and I hope you all had a happy and blessed Easter.

Today Dave and I visited Hardwick Park near Sedgefield, and obviously the camera went too (and so did Louis, our dog!). Here are three views of this beautiful place. Some history:

In the 18th century John Burdon set about transforming the Hardwick Estate into his own pleasure grounds. To help him achieve his vision he employed James Paine, a leading architect of the time. Their aim was to create a garden that, although heavily engineered, was meant to look completely natural. It was a far step from formal gardens of the past. Paine created ornamental buildings, "ruins", lakes and woodland which looked like they had always been part of the landscape. Even the Serpentine was created to look like a river flowing through the Park.

The Park was cleverly designed so that at certain points on the Circuit Walk, visitors were greeted with a fresh and exciting view of the park. You can still take that Circuit Walk today.

The decline of Harwick Part began in the early 1800s and over time the layout vanished in a tangle of undergrowth and many of the buildings turned to ruins. Local residents were concerned that the historical importance of Hardwick Park was being lost and so, in 1999, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Durham County Council began the Hardwick Park Restoration Project. It has undergone a massive transformation into the wonderful place it is today.

V1: the statue of Neptune in the Serpentine with the Serpentine Bridge in the background.
V2: a wider view taking in Neptune and the Serpentine
V3: the Gothic Ruin beside the Serpentine

Thanks for all your continued support, and I will try to catch up with you all later.

Carol

Tags: Photo journalism Park Water Bridge Statue

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